Crackdown against unauthorised health facilities to resume on Monday

The government will resume a crackdown on unlicenced hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres on Monday, three months after the shutdown of 1,641 facilities.

The drive will continue until Thursday, said Dr Ahmedul Kabir, additional director general at the Directorate General of Health Services, on Thursday.

The government issued fresh licences to 1,489 health centres and renewed licences of 2,930 service providers since clamping down on facilities with registration issues in May-June, reports bdnews24.com.

Despite the stern measures and repeated warnings, many companies are still doing business without a licence, Ahemdul added. “We will move against those who are not renewing their licences. There are about 2,000 such companies.”

 “They don’t have the necessary documents. They can’t be allowed to provide health services in that status. These hospitals think they can continue like this.”

Ahmedul said those who failed to legalise their businesses in three months will be shown “no mercy” and their health centres will be “shut down”.

He added that the health directorate was unable to gather authentic information on unlicenced companies or those with expired licences. “So we can’t take any measures against them.”

Registered physicians working in such hospitals will also face “legal consequences”, according to him. “We will not take any responsibility for them.”

Ahmedul said they are planning to divide private hospitals into three classes to reflect the status and expenses of the facilities.